The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested 20 suspects for alleged vote-buying and other electoral offences during Saturday’s Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections.
The anti-graft agency said it recovered a total of N17,218,700 from the suspects during coordinated operations across the six area councils.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the commission disclosed that the suspects were apprehended for offences ranging from vote-buying and vote-selling to obstruction of electoral officers.
“Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Saturday, February 21, 2026, arrested 20 suspects for sundry electoral offences in the just-concluded Federal Capital Territory local government elections,” the statement read.
According to the agency, one of the suspects was intercepted with N13.5m in a vehicle parked beside a polling unit in Kwali Area Council.
The EFCC said two suspects were arrested in Abaji, nine in Gwagwalada, four in Kuje and another four in Kwali.
It added that the suspects would be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.
The arrests come amid controversies that trailed the conduct of the FCT council polls, which saw the All Progressives Congress clinch five of the six chairmanship seats declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The Peoples Democratic Party secured victory only in Gwagwalada Area Council.
The election process had earlier sparked tension in Kuje Area Council, where the PDP accused INEC of delaying the announcement of results from two wards and warned that the development could undermine the credibility of the exercise.
Despite the protest, INEC declared the APC candidate, Danjuma Shekwolo, winner of the Kuje chairmanship election, while the PDP candidate, Mohammed Kasim, was returned elected in Gwagwalada.
The EFCC’s intervention has heightened concerns over the integrity of the polls, as allegations of vote-buying and electoral malpractice continue to trail the exercise across the territory.
Observers say the outcome of the investigations and subsequent prosecution of suspects will test the resolve of law enforcement agencies to curb electoral corruption and strengthen Nigeria’s democratic process.
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